Kurtis is Back
by amaratenou2002
Summary: Sequel to Just Some Tomb Raider Story. Kurtis is back to charm Lara, but who's this other guy? CHAPTER 9 IS UP!
1. Kurtis at the Airport

Ok, ok, the reviews for the last one and all the ideas made me decide to write this one out. ^-^ I knew I couldn't hold out that long. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It'd been three months since Kurtis left. About 2160 hours, 129600 seconds, if she did her math right, and she had no idea why she was keeping track of time like this. Three months seemed like forever as each minute stretched on through the day. A loud, high-pitched, female voice screamed, "Lara!" from downstairs. Lara sighed.  
  
"Yes?" she called back.  
  
"Phone!" Lara sighed again.  
  
"Hello," she answered, trying not to sound annoyed when she picked up the phone.  
  
"Hey," a familiar male voice said, "What have you been doing besides missing me?"  
  
"Kurtis?" The world seemed to stop when she said his name. She felt like someone had knocked the wind out of her.  
  
"You bet. So, you got a room for me?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
The phone clicked, Lara and Kurtis jumped when that high-pitched (sounding like she was screaming), female voice said, "Hey! Who the hell is this?!"  
  
Lara said, "M-" stopped, and started again, "Get off the phone."  
  
"Make me bitch!"  
  
"Get off the phone!"  
  
When the phone clicked again, Kurtis asked, "Who was that?"  
  
"Uh, no one. . Where are you?"  
  
"Airport."  
  
"Give me the directions and I'll come get you," Lara said. A few minutes later, Lara came downstairs with a piece of paper in her hand. "I have to go pick up a friend for the airport."  
  
"We'll go with you," The woman (in which I haven't revealed her name to you yet) said.  
  
"No."  
  
"WE"RE GOING WITH YOU!"  
  
"Ok, Ok. Get in the car."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kurtis paced back and forth by a bench outside the airport. He was never good at waiting for people. A car pulled up, the window rolled down, and Lara said, "Get it." He walked around to the passenger side. When he was all settled in, Lara sped off.  
  
Kurtis said, "Are we angry today or something?"  
  
"Don't kill people, Lara, jeeze," a female voice yelled from behind Kurtis. He turned around to look at her. The woman with light brown hair and eyes seemed vaguely familiar to him.  
  
"Who are you?" He turned to Lara, then paused before he said, "Oh."  
  
Lara said, "'Oh' what?"  
  
"Related to you perhaps?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes," the woman yelled.  
  
"You know," he sighed, "honesty is an important thing in a relationship."  
  
"Please," Lara said, "spare me. We are not having a relationship." He laughed and she glared at him.  
  
"I know who she is," Larson said climbing out from under the backseat.  
  
Lara said, "Where'd you come from?"  
  
". . . I don't know. . . Hmm . oh well! Anyways, this is Lara's mom."  
  
"Interesting," Kurtis said. "Does she have a name?"  
  
"That is my name," Lara's mom answered. "Want to know how I met Lara's father?"  
  
"Uh, sure."  
  
"Good! I was going to tell you anyway! Well, one day I saw him walking down the street and then, sometime after, we were married."  
  
"What a story," Kurtis said sarcastically.  
  
Larson said, "Well, Kurtis, I see you haven't changed any. You still can't shave." Kurtis growled, but didn't say anything.  
  
"It's only been three months," Lara defended him. "How much did you expect him to change?"  
  
"I figured he would've learned to shave by now."  
  
Kurtis sighed, "How many times do I have to tell you-"  
  
"Excuses, excuses," Larson interrupted. Lara swerved so Larson hit his head on the window. "Ow."  
  
"Thank you," Kurtis said.  
  
Lara's mom yelled, "You didn't let me finish! . Anyways, Lara's father was pretty wealthy, so I bet you think I married him for his money. Wrong, I married him for his butler, the butler."  
  
"Mom, the butler was hired by me when I got my own house," Lara said. "Stop telling people that story."  
  
"I can do what I want, bitch. Who is this guy anyway? Who are you?"  
  
Kurtis said, " Lara hasn't told you about us?"  
  
"What 'us'? There is no us," Lara said.  
  
"I don't care," Lara's mom yelled in Kurtis's ear. "Just tell me his name. It's not that hard."  
  
"His name is Kurtis Trent, ok mom."  
  
Larson asked, "So where are we headed?"  
  
"Back to my house," Lara answered, "but you can't come. I'm so fed up with you."  
  
"But you haven't seen me since Kurtis left."  
  
"That doesn't matter. You're so fucking annoying I could kill myself."  
  
Kurtis said, "But she wont do that 'cause she's got me now, and of course, I'm the best thing that's happened to her."  
  
Lara rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You are so pathetic, Kurtis." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
You never really find out about Lara's Mom, so I put her in. I like working with annoying people and serious people in one story too. More to come. 


	2. In a Name

This one is short, sorry. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lara pulled into her driveway and the gate shut behind her. Larson said, "Welcome to Lara's house where you will stay until you decide what you want to steal from her."  
  
Lara said, "Oh shut up and get out." They got out of the car and went inside.  
Kurtis said, "Hey . Lara's mom, how in the hell did you get a name like that?"  
  
"Well," Lara's mom practically screamed, "why don't we all sit in the dining room and I'll tell you." Kurtis followed her before Lara could object. Larson and the butler went too. "When I was a girl, I often forgot my name. The teachers got fed up and made me wear a name tag, but it was no use."  
  
"Mom, please don't tell this story," Lara sighed. "You just mad-"  
  
"Don't interrupt! Ok, so when I still couldn't remember, they had a teacher spend extra time with me to learn it. The first thing the teacher did was give me a pencil and paper and told me to write my name a bunch of times. But I didn't write anything; I just sat there. This is when they found out I couldn't read or write. I had to reveal my secret. So I told them how I had gotten all my homework done.  
  
"I had a raccoon do it. You see, when I was little, I often ran away with all my animal friends. Actually, the birds hated me . and now that I think of it, so did the squirrels, and the bears, and pretty much all the animals except the raccoons. Well, this angered my parents and all the teachers. So they chased me. When I reached the woods, the raccoons led me to safety. I was finally where I belonged."  
  
After being silent a moment, Kurtis said, "What the hell did any of that have to do with why your name is Lara's Mom?"  
  
"Ah, no one asked you anyways," Lara's mom said. She got up and walked away. The phone rang. "I got it!" Kurtis just sat there and stared at Lara. "Lara!"  
  
Lara said, "What?"  
  
"Phone! Now!" Kurtis couldn't help feeling the pain of something bad about to happen. He couldn't figure out why. He stood in the doorway watching Lara talk on the phone. She was smiling. Whoever it was, was able to do something Kurtis had trouble with so easily. He sighed. She hung up the phone.  
  
"I'll show you to your room," she said walking past him. He followed her.  
  
"Who was that? That's the first time I've seen you smile so big," he said. Lara thought he sounded angry.  
  
*What's his problem?* "A friend. Here's your room."  
  
"Hey." She walked away. "Lara ." He sat on the bed and sighed. *Why am I feeling like this? What's wrong with me?* 


	3. The Cold Stab of Jealousy

**These next few chapters may be a little OCC, sorry.*  
  
Kurtis heard someone knocking on Lara's front door. The day before had been nothing but bad feelings in the pit of Kurtis's stomach since the phone call. And now, he just stayed in bed and listened to the person knocking, knocking, knocking .  
  
"What do you want?!" Lara's mom screamed. No more knocking.  
  
"Is Lara here?" a male voice asked. Kurtis sat up. Some guy was at the door asking for Lara. That can't be good. The feeling in his stomach pulsated.  
  
"Of course she is! She only lives here . LARA!"  
  
"What do you want?" Lara called back.  
  
"Some guy is here for you!" Kurtis could hear Lara skip down the stairs.  
  
"Hey, Glen, how are you?" He slumped against the wall. *Who's Glen?*  
  
"I'm fine," Glen answered. "How about you?" Kurtis didn't hear the answer; the pain in his stomach was killing him. *Who's Glen?*  
  
"You're welcome to stay here for a while. I have extra rooms." His heart pounded in his ears. Why was he feeling this way? It's obvious this guy is just some friend of hers. That was all, right?  
  
"Yeah," he assured himself out loud. "That's all." Downstairs, Lara was laughing. *I don't understand. How can this Glen guy make her laugh so easily?* Before he knew what to say, he was downstairs, standing in the dining room doorway.  
  
Lara just looked at him and said, "Yes?"  
  
"Who's this guy?"  
  
"This," she said gesturing her hand toward the man next to her, "is my friend, Glen." Kurtis winced when she said friend. To Kurtis, Glen was nothing special. He had brown hair (not has dark as Kurtis's and Glen didn't have the facial hair either), he had dark eyes too, and they had a sense of coldness to him. Although that's not what caused Kurtis to hate him right away.  
  
"Oh," Kurtis said, trying not to sound disapproving, "is he staying here or something?"  
  
"Kurtis, can I talk to you in another room?" She grabbed his arm has soon as she asked, giving him no choice, and dragging him into the other room. "What is your problem?"  
  
"Who is that guy?"  
  
"I told you."  
  
"That's not what I mean," he snapped.  
  
"You know what," she said stepping closer, "If you're going to act like that, then leave." She started to walk away, but he grabbed her arm.  
  
"Lara-"  
  
"Kurtis, don't." She walked off and he just stood there.  
  
"What was the problem?" he heard Glen ask.  
  
"I don't know. Let's not worry about it."  
  
Lara's mom was in the doorway of the music room with the butler and Larson, watching Kurtis. "Lara's an ungrateful bitch," Lara's mom whispered. "I think that guy actually likes her too."  
  
Larson said, " He does."  
  
"Uh," the butler said, "but what can we do?"  
  
"We can do something," Lara's mom said. "Let's go make a plan." The three of them went into the library. Kurtis came back upstairs and went in his room. He stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. He didn't know what to do. Leave? Or stay and fight it out?  
  
"I'll fight it out," he said. There was a knock on the door. "Yes?" Lara walked in.  
  
"Are you ready to tell me what this is all about?" she said.  
  
"Surprised you care."  
  
"Ok, for starters, drop the attitude. Once you've done that, you can put that cigarette out, no smoking in my house."  
  
"I'm sure Glen is allowed to smoke."  
  
"Oh please?"  
  
"So what was he?"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Kurtis repeated himself, "I said, 'what was he?' A boyfriend, a close friend, someone you slept with ."  
  
"Oh Kurtis please! You are so pathetic! He's my friend, all right? And it's none of your business what he was."  
  
"You know, maybe I should leave. I was thinking about staying anyways, but now, I'm not so sure. I don't think I can stay here and watch you two fuck around with each other."  
  
"Whoa, I haven't done anything with him," she said. "And like it should matter to you anyways."  
  
"It does matter!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I love you." They sat in silence and he was sorry he had said it.  
  
"Kurtis . I-"  
  
"I've made up my mind," he interrupted. "I'm going." He walked out and down the stairs with her following. The front door slammed behind him. Lara sat on the floor.  
  
Larson was outside the gate when Kurtis came out. Kurtis asked, "What are you doing out here?"  
  
Larson said, " I heard you and Lara arguing and decided to meet you outside." Kurtis walked past him. "Hey, where are you going?"  
  
"Back home, to Utah."  
  
"You can't go! Then that new guy will win her over!"  
  
"He's already got her."  
  
Larson gasped, "Kurtis Trent, you're not giving up, are you?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"You can't give up! You don't seem like that type of person. Plus, we're going to help you. Now, go find a hotel to stay at until you calm down, then come back here, ok?"  
  
". . . . All right." He started to walk away, then stopped and said, "Hey, uh, Larson. Thanks."  
  
"No problem. Personally, I don't like him. He made Lara laugh at me." Kurtis smiled a little and left.  
  
In the house, Lara was sitting on the floor. "LARA!" her mom yelled to her, "Get up here!" Lara slowly lifted herself off the ground and met her mom in the music room. "Shut the door." She shut it. "Come here."  
  
"Mom," she said as she walked over, "I didn't do anything."  
  
"Yeah, I know. Come here and tell me what the problem is."  
  
"There is no problem."  
  
"Ah, bull crap," Lara's mom said. "Tell me, why did that Kurtis guy leave the house?"  
  
Lara sighed, trying not to cry, "I don't know. He seems to think Glen and I are involved with each other. We were, during school and we've been friends ever since, but-"  
  
"But Kurtis thinks something is going on now. He likes you, Lara. He's just jealous. He wants you to look at him and not Glen."  
  
"Things can't always go Kurtis's way. I haven't seen Glen in years and if Kurtis can't handle that, then-"  
  
"If you don't cut him a break, you're going to lose him. Do you want to lose him?" Lara didn't answer. "By your reaction to when he left, I don't think you do. Give him time to think, he'll come back." Lara nodded and smiled. So her mom was a little weird, but when she wanted to, she could still be the best. She gave her mom a quick hug and went out in the hall. Glen was at the bottom of the stairs.  
  
"Hey," he said, "You want to go for a walk or something?"  
  
"No thanks," she answered. She felt guilty just looking at him. "I just don't feel like I can right now. How about later?"  
  
Kurtis was lying on a hotel bed, thinking. He needed a cigarette, but unfortunately, he didn't get a room he could smoke in. He could go outside, but he didn't feel like getting up. He wanted to talk to Lara; that's what he really wanted. He picked up the phone and dialed her number, she answered. "Hello? . . Hello? Anyone there? . . . Damn people." The phone clicked and the dial tone rang loud in his ear. He called again. "Hello . Who the hell is this? Stop calling!" Click, dial tone, redial. "What?!"  
  
"Lara," he said.  
  
"Yes? . Kurtis? Where are you?" He didn't respond. "Kurtis?" She sounded worried. "Kurtis are you there?"  
  
"I'm here."  
  
"Are you all right? Where are you?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Lara. I shouldn't have said that to you."  
  
"Said what to me, Kurtis?"  
  
"That . never mind." He could hear her saying something has he hung up the phone. The pain that had finally subsided now returned.  
  
The next day, Kurtis decided to go back to Lara's. Larson was at the gate. "I thought you'd come back today," Larson said. He opened the gate, and Kurtis stepped inside. The two of them went in the house. Lara, her mom, the butler, and Glen were at the dining room table. "Kurtis is back."  
  
Lara said, "Go ahead and sit down."  
  
"No thanks, I'll stand," he said looking at Glen. Glen shifter in his seat under Kurtis's gaze.  
  
"We need to talk later."  
  
"No thanks."  
  
"Stop saying that."  
  
Lara's mom said, "I think it's time for another story." She was suddenly dressed has a minstrel. "This I the story-" she strummed her olden time guitar every fourth word- "of a Mr. Trent."  
  
"What?" Kurtis said.  
  
"He is a lonely man; he was a lonely boy."  
  
"This is ridiculous." Being humiliated by Lara's mom in front of Glen was one of the last things Kurtis wanted.  
  
"SHUT UP! When he was six, he had an imaginary friend named Joe. Joe was a horny bastard."  
  
"Please stop."  
  
"Ah let her continue," Glen said. Kurtis glared at him. "This might be interesting."  
  
"She doesn't know a God damned thing about me!"  
  
Lara sighed, "Guys, please. Knock it off."  
  
"I'm continuing! Now SHUT UP and LISTEN," Lara's mom screamed. She cleared her throat before going on. "You know, I think I met Joe once. . . Yup. I have a lot of naughty memories of us."  
  
Kurtis said, "I can't stay here." He walked out the door and Lara followed. He turned around and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye, Lara." He headed for the gate. Larson shoved Lara back inside and went after Kurtis.  
  
"Stop, Kurtis! Wait," Larson called has he caught up. "Come on, don't leave. You can do this, man."  
  
"I just can't stand seeing that guy." *Or being laughed at by him* "I'm going to kill him," Kurtis sighed.  
  
"Well leaving isn't giving you a very good start."  
  
"Why are you doing this again?"  
  
"I told you. Now, you go inside and talk to Lara. You're frustrated, I know. Take a few breaths and try again." Kurtis stood there for a moment, thinking and trying to calm down. It was almost funny. Kurtis acting the way he was; Larson suddenly being helpful. Kurtis took a deep breath, letting it out again in a sigh. In the window, Lara was watching. He thought she looked worried. "I can have her come out here," Larson offered.  
  
"Yeah, that'd be good," Kurtis nodded has he answered. He watched Larson disappear into the house. Lara came out after a few minutes. He kicked at a rock while she was walking over. He felt so stupid. He sighed, "Listen, I'm sorry I-" she hugged him and he stopped in surprise.  
  
"You don't have to leave," she said into his shirt. He rested his hands on the small of her back. "Don't leave."  
  
". . All right. But on one condition." Lara looked up at him; he was smiling. "I'm sleeping in your room with you."  
  
"Maybe, but it would only be for one night. . I'll think about it." She smiled at him. He wanted to kiss her, but held back, afraid to ruin anything. For pretty much the rest of the day, Kurtis stayed in his room. He wanted to avoid the sight of Lara laughing with Glen.  
  
Kurtis scoffed, "Glen, what a joke." Lara's mom yelled about something. It was always the same. Lara's mom yelled, then Lara would tell her to shut up, her mom would say no, then Glen would tell Lara's mom (nicely) to be quiet, and Lara's mom would call him a suck up, then continue yelling. Kurtis thought Lara's mom was something else, he just didn't know what.  
  
He didn't know how late it was when someone knocked on the door. "If you're anyone but Glen you can come in," he said. The door opened.  
  
"Why would Glen want to come in?" Lara asked. She shut the door behind her. Kurtis shrugged. "Are you tired?"  
  
"I don't know. Why?"  
  
"'Cause I am."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Are you coming?" When he didn't respond, she said, " I thought about it. Are you coming?"  
  
"Yeah." He held back his grin. She smiled.  
  
"It's only for tonight," she said. "Don't look so happy." They both lay in Lara's bed. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. Kurtis carefully put his arms around her waist, trying not to wake her up. He kissed her forehead and fell asleep with her in his arms.  
  
**Sorry this took so long to update. My typing program was down for a while. I'll put more up ASAP* 


	4. A better day sort of

Lara woke up first. Kurtis, of course, was still sleeping. She touched the side of his face. "What the hell are you doing?" Lara's mom screamed from the doorway. Lara jumped.  
  
"Mom," Lara whispered harshly. "Get out of here!"  
  
"Make me!"  
  
"Shut up," Kurtis mumbled. He put a pillow over his head. "I'm trying to sleep."  
  
"I don't care!" Lara got up, shoved her mom out and slammed the door.  
  
"Kurtis? You awake?" Lara said. He didn't answer. She smiled and got dressed before heading downstairs. The butler was calling for her from the kitchen. "What do you want?"  
  
"Uh, nigga Glen wont leave homie mom alone. If he, uh, doesn't I'll pop a cap in his ass," the butler said.  
  
Lara blinked. "What?"  
  
"Uh, nigga Glen wont leave hom-"  
  
"Ok, I get it. And you're not a rapper so knock it off." She walked away.  
  
"Don't, uh, tell me what to do, uh, I'll pop a cap in your, uh, ass .. mofo."  
  
Lara's mom was in the poolroom dressed has a general. She had Lara's pistol in her hand and was threatening to shoot Glen. Lara sighed, "Mom. Stop."  
  
Lara's mom yelled, "Make me!"  
  
"Give me the gun back. I just want the gun."  
  
"Can I shoot him first?"  
  
"Mmm . . . . . no. Give me it." Lara took the gun and went back upstairs.  
  
"Why did you leave? Where did you go?" Lara asked. She was lying in bed with Kurtis. He had just woken up at eleven. He still didn't seem fully awake. Lara figured he could sleep all day if she gave him the chance.  
  
"Family business. You know, Lux Veritatis stuff," he said. "It's not interesting, trust me. So, uh, . Glen . what's that all about?"  
  
"We've been," Lara hesitated and quickly decided not to tell him about the relationship, "friends for a while. We met at school and did a bit of traveling together afterwards. Nothing more. I can't say I haven't had a few boyfriends, but the relationships obviously never lasted."  
  
"Oh, why not?"  
  
"Because there was never anything there. At least not for me; I just went along for the hell of it."  
  
"Am I like the rest?" he asked her. She just looked at him for a second.  
  
"Oh, come on, Kurtis. This is a friendship, not a relationship."  
  
"You know, this bed brings back memories that I don't think normal friendships have."  
  
"What? You breaking into my house and me handcuffing you for it?"  
  
"That too."  
  
Lara said, "You know, you are so gross."  
  
"Really was it that bad?"  
  
"Oh, shut up." He laughed and she tried to hide her smile.  
  
"Why do you do that? Are you ashamed I made you smile?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, you don't hide when Glen makes you smile." He sighed, "God I'm tired."  
  
"You could sleep all day if I let you."  
  
"That's true."  
  
"You're so lazy."  
  
"Hey," he said, "I am not lazy. I just sleep late. And at least I don't kill people when they try to be nice to me."  
  
"I don't ill people for tat," Lara said. "You're still alive."  
  
"All right, one person. . Oh, wait, Glen." He scoffed.  
  
"What are you scoffing about?"  
  
"Glen."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Hey you guys," Larson called from downstairs. "Come down here! I want you to meet someone." Lara and Kurtis just looked at each other.  
  
Kurtis sighed, "I don't want to get up. Besides, if Larson wants us to meet this person, then they're probably not worth meeting. Then again, he didn't introduce me to Glen either."  
  
"All right, all right, I get it. Let's just go," Lara said. They walked out and looked down at Larson (Lara's mom, the butler, and Glen were standing down there too). He had a girl with him. The girl was blonde, she would have been pretty except her make up was packed on and she was dressed like a whore.  
  
Larson said, "This is my girlfriend, Girlfriend. She's going to stay here too." Larson's girlfriend winked at Kurtis and he tried not to make a disgusted look. "Someone should show the two of us around here like we've never been here before."  
  
"Can he do it?" Larson's girlfriend asked has she grabbed Kurtis's arm.  
  
Kurtis pushed Glen toward her and said, "This is Glen and he would be more than happy to show you around."  
  
"But, I have to talk to Lara," Glen protested.  
  
"Just go. You can talk to her later." He pushed the three of them outside and shut the door. Lara sat down on the stairs. Kurtis sat down next to her. "Are you ok?" She nodded. "I should have one of Larson's goons go to my house, pack some of my clothes, and bring them back to me."  
  
"You trust them?" Lara said. He shrugged.  
  
"I'm going to go talk to Larson about it." He walked out the door and caught up to Larson near the training course. "Hey, Larson. You think you could have one of your goons get some stuff from my house for me?" Larson handed him a duffel bag. Kurtis and checked it and realized it was his, and his clothes were in it. "Where did- how did you do that?"  
  
Larson said, "Do what?" He really didn't know what Kurtis was talking about.  
  
"Hey, where did that Glen guy go?" Larson's girlfriend asked.  
  
"He probably went to talk to Lara." Kurtis pushed past them and ran in the house. He threw his bag in his room and waited for Glen to come out of Lara's room. Has soon as he did, Kurtis went in, kicking the door shut behind him.  
  
"What did he say?" Kurtis asked. "What did he want?"  
  
Lara said, "It's really not any of your business."  
  
"Just tell me!"  
  
Lara glared at him for a minute. "Fine. He has a friend that lives around here that is having a party. He asked me to go with him."  
  
"And you're going?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Fine, go. You're just like him anyways. You're both stuck up and think you are better than everyone else. I'm just one of the people you don't give a damn what happens to. Right? I thought you were better than that; I actually thought you were better than that. Well, fuck you." He left, slamming the door behind him. Lara felt like killing someone. 


	5. Crashing the party

**Sorry the updating takes so long, I've had a lot of homework, but will do better over the next two weeks**  
  
Lara slipped on a black, spaghetti strapped dress, with a slit going down her thigh, and let her hair down (it had a wavy effect from her signature braid). She still wasn't entirely sure how to react about Kurtis. She didn't really want to think about it. She took a deep breath and headed out in the hall.  
  
Kurtis watched from the small crack of his slightly opened door. Lara came out of her room and in the hallway. It was the first time he had seen her like that. She walked down the stairs toward Glen and he put his arm around her shoulders. They left, shutting the door behind them.  
  
He helped her into the car and got in himself. "Ow, damn it," Lara's mom whispered when the car hit a bump. Her and the butler were in the trunk, dressed in camouflage. The butler even brought a camouflage tray with him. Lara's mom took a walkie-talkie out of her pocket. "Larson," she whispered into it. "Larson, come in, Larson. This is agent mom."  
  
"Sergeant Hobo speaking," he answered.  
  
"Whisper, damn it!"  
  
"Sorry. Where is your exact location?"  
  
"They're still no they're way there."  
  
"I'll notify Kurtis. Over and out."  
  
"Yeah, whatever," she mumbled.  
  
Larson said, "Kurtis! Lara's mom is on her way to the party right now. As soon as she gets there, she will tell us where it is located and you can go there after Lara."  
  
"What? Is she following them or something?" Kurtis asked.  
  
"Well, sort of. She's in their trunk."  
  
"How did all this happen?"  
  
"It started earlier today," Larson told him. "Lara's mom and the butler were mopping carpets when Glen came in and headed to Lara's room. That's when they heard about the party. She decided she wanted to go in and ruin it, but I told her that you would want to know about it too. Then you were already in Lara's room yelling, so Lara's mom and the butler packed themselves into the trunk."  
  
". You tell it like you're explaining a murder or something- Anyways, let's get going."  
  
"No, not yet. We don't know the location the party is being held at. Wait 'til Lara's mom radios back to me."  
  
Lara's mom hit her back against the trunk when the car came to a sudden stop. "We must be here," she whispered. Car doors slammed shut and footsteps got quieter as they walked away. She popped the trunk open a crack so she could see outside. She looked around for a street sign.  
  
Inside, Lara was following Glen around, feeling out of place. She felt like everyone was judging her. A few people whispered when she walked past. She wanted to turn around and tell them what she thought of "their kind," but bit her tongue instead. Glen introduced her to a few of his friends; she felt like he was showing her off as a prized possession. Kurtis wouldn't do that to her. She gave a small sigh and pretended to be in on the conversation.  
  
"Sergeant Homo, come in Sergeant Homo," Lara's mom whispered into the radio.  
  
"That's Sergeant Hobo," Larson answered.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. We have the location information for you. Agent Butler! What does the sign say? What's the street name?"  
  
The butler yelled back, "Uh! I can't read, uh, it! Uhhh . uhhhh."  
  
Kurtis came over the radio saying, "Tell me where the keys are."  
  
"They're in the kitchen hanging on a key rack," answered Lara's mom. "Her motorcycle key is the only key on a ring by itself."  
  
"Great. I'll find you guys." He threw the radio at Larson (Larson didn't catch it so it fell on he ground and broke), grabbed the motorcycle key and took off. Larson took another radio out from nowhere.  
  
"There he is," Lara's mom said to the butler after fifteen minutes of waiting. Kurtis stopped the motorcycle near the trunk of Glen's car. Lara's mom climbed out. "Are you going in?"  
  
"Yeah," he said with a sigh. "I am."  
  
"Good luck, soldier," she said giving him a salute.  
  
"Um, yeah, sure." He took a deep breath and went through the door. Not nearly everyone turned around to stare like he expected. For some reason, he was sure there would be a dramatic reaction when he walked in. Like a movie. The "I-think-my-money-is-worth-more-then-your-life" people (has Kurtis filed them in his mind anyway) were giving him a "You don't belong here" look. And he agreed, but he came for Lara. He was sorry for yelling at her, the things he said .  
  
There she was. Lara. She looked beautiful. And of course Glen was right there with her. But, Kurtis didn't give a shit at this point.  
  
Lara felt a hand wrap around her own and noticed the group she was pretending to talk to were all staring behind her. She turned her head to see it was Kurtis. "What- . What are you doing here?" She asked him.  
  
"I came to get you," he said. She didn't know what to say. "What? Do you want me to leave?"  
  
"I want you to leave," Glen said stepping in front of Lara. "This isn't a place for you. So just get out."  
  
"Excuse me. . I believe I was asking Lara, not you. Now . Lara . would you like to leave with me or stay with Glen?"  
  
"Leave," she answered without hesitation. "I want to go." Kurtis held his arm out and she took it.  
  
"Let's go ma cher," Kurtis said with a smile. Lara smiled back and the two of them walked out. "I brought your motorcycle. I'm driving." He sat on it with Lara sitting behind him. Lara's mom and the butler were back in the trunk of Glen's car, waving.  
  
"What is my mom doing here?"  
  
"Long story. You ready?"  
  
"Yeah." Lara clung to Kurtis as he drove back to hr house. Lara went to her room and changed into more comfortable clothes. There was a knock on her door. She knew who it was; they were the only two in the house. "Come in," she called. Kurtis came in shutting the door behind him. He sat down on her bed.  
  
"So, are you mad at me?" he asked.  
  
"No. Why would I be?"  
  
"Because I took you away from Glen in front of those snotty fuckers."  
  
"No, I'm glad you did it," she said. "He made me feel like his trophy and I hate rich, snobby people."  
  
"Look, . I'm sorry about what I said to you. I just flipped out, you know."  
  
". . What do you think Glen is doing right now?"  
  
"Crying-no, I don't know." She sat next to him and he put his arm around her.  
  
She sighed, "You don't give up, do you?"  
  
"Of course not. You know that. Do I get to sleep in here tonight?"  
  
"Maybe. I haven't decided yet." They just stared at each other for a minute. Lara started to get uneasy because of look he was giving her. He wanted to protect her even though he knew she was capable of protecting herself. Sounds of the piano broke the silence. "What's that?"  
  
"It's probably Larson. He is still here, you know."  
  
"I do now," she said getting up. She went in the library with Kurtis following and found Larson attempting to play the piano. Lara looked around. "What happened to your girlfriend?"  
  
"Here I am," Larson's girlfriend yelled from behind Lara. She jumped. Larson's girlfriend sat by Larson on the piano bench. "He's just like Mozart."  
  
"Where do you get that idea from?" Kurtis asked. "He sucks."  
  
"Can you play the piano?"  
  
"No, but neither can he."  
  
Lara said, "Please leave the piano alone. I'm going to bed." She walked back to her room and Larson took his girlfriend to the room they were staying in. Kurtis grabbed Lara by her arm and pulled her close to him. He hugged her and she put her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I'll let you sleep by yourself tonight," Kurtis said. He gave her a light kiss on her forehead before going to his own room.  
  
**I'll update ASAP this time! Sorry!** 


	6. Betrayal

Whipping a gun out from under his pillow, Kurtis quickly opened his eyes, finding he was pointing it at Lara. "Morning to you too," Lara said. He sat up and lowered his gun.  
  
"Sorry, I just knew someone was there, I didn't know it was you," he told her. Lara sat on his legs. "God you weigh a lot." He put his hands up in defense before she hit him. "I was kidding. So, did you talk to Glen yet?"  
  
"No and I really don't want to."  
  
"There's a shocker. . Were you happy to see me last night?"  
  
She hesitated, "Yes very much actually. Were you happy to humiliate Glen?"  
  
"Of course. Are you mad at me for it?"  
  
"No. After the way he treated he me, I'd say he deserved it." She jumped onto floor. "I'm going to run my course. See you later." A few minutes after she left, Kurtis pulled himself out of bed. He used Lara's bathroom to shower and dress before going downstairs.  
  
"Uh, morning Nigga Kurtis," the butler said. Everyone (except Lara) was sitting at the dining room table. Kurtis was surprised he had actually gotten up in time for breakfast. He took a seat one chair away from Glen.  
  
"Thanks for getting Lara pissed off at me," Glen said.  
  
"Always a pleasure," Kurtis shot back.  
  
"Do you know how she really feels about you? She told me all about you. I know what you want from her. She knows it too. You've got nothing to offer her. You live in an apartment in Utah. How do you support yourself? I doubt you have a job."  
  
"All right, I don't know what you're trying to do, but now would be a good time to shut the hell up. Plus, she's not like you. She loves me; I know she does. She just doesn't like to show it. She hasn't admitted it to herself yet."  
  
Glen shook his head and said, "If you honestly believe that . you don't know Lara." Lara's mom and the butler followed Larson into the kitchen. "Do you ever wonder why she's 'never admitted it?' Because she doesn't love you; you just keep pressuring her to say she does. Did you ever think of that?" Kurtis clenched his teeth together. He didn't know if he could keep from hitting the bastard. "Obviously you haven't. I didn't think someone like you could put two and two together." Glen was instantly knocked to the floor.  
  
"Don't start with me. I don't care about what you have to say or your opinion. I care about what happens to Lara. What she really thinks. Not you." Glen got to his feet and hit Kurtis in the jaw. Kurtis shoved him against the wall.  
  
"Larson," Lara's mom whispered. "Now would be a good time to go and get Lara." Larson just looked at her. "Which means go! NOW!" He went through the kitchen door leading out to the course. She had just started it over again when he came up to her.  
  
Kurtis hit Glen in the side of his face with his right hand, cracking the skin open with his ring. He then jammed his fist into Glen's stomach and hit him over the head to get him down. Lara caught his arm before he could land another blow. "Kurtis," Lara said gently. "Stop." He saw the worried look on her face and gave Glen one last swift kick into his side before walking away. "Larson, you and my mom help him. I need to talk to Kurtis."  
  
"Yes, sir," Larson said, giving her a salute. Lara rolled her eyes and walked away. She found him in her room, standing by the fireplace. He was looking at an old picture of her and her family when she was little. It wasn't in a frame; the edges were wearing.  
  
"Kurtis, are you alright? What happened?"  
  
Kurtis ignored the question and asked, "How old were you when this picture was taken?"  
  
"Uh, six or seven- Kurtis, answer me. Are you ok?"  
  
". No, something's bothering me." He turned around to face her. "Am I pressuring you to say you like me? I mean, without it actually being true?"  
  
"No, you're pressuring me to admit it to myself sooner than I'd like to," she said with a smile. He smiled back at her. "Is that what you were two were fighting about?"  
  
"Something like that." He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. "You're worth fighting for. Especially since I know I can win." He leaned in to kiss her and she moved away from him.  
  
"Sure you can," she said with a sarcastic tone. "And I'm going to marry Larson."  
  
"Well, make sure you inform him of your future plans together."  
  
"Oh, shut up."  
  
Kurtis looked out the window for a minute. "Hey, I have an idea," he said. "Your training course. I'll race you to see who gets it done first. What do you say?"  
  
"Hmmm . Ok, you're on. Do you want to practice first since you've never been through it before?"  
  
"No, I'm sure I can do it without practice."  
  
Lara scoffed, "Don't be so sure of yourself."  
  
Glen was in his room, talking on his cell phone. "Gunderson? She wont go anywhere with me voluntarily- but I can get her to you," he whispered into the phone.  
  
"You had better. We need the male out of the way," Gunderson said.  
  
"That should be reasonably easy. He can't be that much of a threat. I can take him out with no problem."  
  
"You idiot, stop boasting. He's part of the Lux Veritatis. Of course he'll be a problem. Not to mention he was born with more advanced skills than any of the ones we've come across. The sooner you bring us the Croft girl, the sooner we can get rid of them both."  
  
"What about Karel?"  
  
"Karel will soon be revived. We have everything we need except the male and Ms. Croft. Now hurry up."  
  
"I'm on it," Glen said before hanging up.  
  
It was about eleven when Lara finished her short shower, and came out of the bathroom drying her hair. She got dressed, turn the light off, and crawled into bed. The race her and Kurtis had ended in a tie, no matter how many times they did it over. She was a bit surprised at his skill. Getting through the first time without any flaw was pretty good. Or maybe she was giving him too much credit and it was just too easy. She quickly pulled her gun out when one of the floor boards creaked, but she couldn't tell exactly where it came from. Someone clapped a cloth over her mouth. She could feel herself getting weaker as she fought to get away. She flailed her arms around 'til she finally passed out.  
  
Kurtis was walking around the house looking for Lara noon the next day. He went upstairs and knocked on Glen's door. No one answered. Instead of knocking again, he kicked the door open. The room was empty. He opened Lara's room door and searched around. He found a chloroformed cloth in her bed. The answer was obvious to him when he found Glen gone. Kurtis growled.  
  
**The next chapter will be my attempt at a more exciting story. I'm nervous, but tell me ow I'm doing!!! Next chapter soon** 


	7. A series of bad luck

"How the hell am I going to find them?!" Kurtis asked himself. "I don't even know where to begin to look!"  
  
Larson said, "Whoa, Kurtis, calm down. There has to be some way we can find them. I just don't know how."  
  
"I might be able," Lara's mom offered.  
  
"Is there any place you think he would have taken her?"  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Kurtis sighed, "I don't know. I have to think about it."  
  
"HEY!!! I said, 'I might be able to help.' Are you going to listen or not?"  
  
"Yes! Just tell me!"  
  
"Well, I heard glen talking on the phone in his room. He said something about a Kay-reel."  
  
"Karel?"  
  
"Yeah, Karel. Is that helpful?"  
  
"Did he say anything else?" Kurtis asked her.  
  
"I don't remember. Let me think a minute." The three of them sat there thinking. Kurtis drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. "He mentioned some thing. ... A Gunderson. Do you know what that is?"  
  
"Gunderson is a man. And unfortunately I know him. What did he say about Gunderson?"  
  
"That's who he was talking to," she told him. They started thinking again. The phone rang.  
  
Kurtis answered it, "Hello?"  
  
"We'll let Lara go as soon as you give up. Meet us at the old Lux Veritatis Training Facility in one hour," a man (probably Glen) said and then hung up.  
  
"Get me the keys to Lara's motorcycle, get some guns and ammo, then follow me in Lara's car. I need someone there in case something really bad happens. You've got five minutes to load up." He took the key and walked out the door.  
  
Lara woke up and realized she was hanging by chains around her wrists. She heard the door behind her open. "Hey, whoever you are, let me down," she growled. A man came around into her view; she saw it was Glen. "Glen!" She tried to kick him; of course, he was too far away. "You did this, didn't you?! You stupid jerk! Get me down from here!" He grabbed her legs so she couldn't kick anymore. She let out a frustrated sigh, "Where am I?"  
  
"You're in an old Lux Veritatis Training Facility. It hasn't been used in years," he told her. "I bet you didn't know there was one around here."  
  
"Why am I here? Where's Kurtis?!"  
  
"Kurtis is on his way. I just came to see if you were awake, and now that I see you are, I'll be going." He left her yelling threats and kicking at him.  
  
Kurtis felt like it had taken him forever to get there. Larson followed in one of Lara's cars. "You stay here," Kurtis said to Larson. "I'll get Lara. Hopefully, it wont take too long; but if anything happens to me, just get her the hell out of here."  
  
"Aw," Larson complained. "I want to save her and be the hero."  
  
"There's no time for that shit. You got the bag of ammo and all that?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Give it to me."  
  
"Right here? This isn't exactly a good time or place to-"  
  
Kurtis interrupted, "That's disgusting and I'm not gay either, you freak. ... Anyway, I'm going now. You stay here." He took the bag from Larson, slung it across his shoulder, and went through the large doors. On the outside, the Lux Veritatis Training Facility looked like any other building (well, any other building that just happened to be in the middle of nowhere), but the inside made Kurtis feel like he was in a prison, though he was not sure why. A lot of the equipment used to train here was destroyed before the building was abandoned. He had come here once when he was little. Konstantin came to talk to the leader of this facility and brought Kurtis with him. But even being inside the place didn't stir any familiarity. Kurtis decided to start from the basement and work his way up.  
  
In the basement there was basically nothing but faded blood stains on the walls. The room was small and dark. His father once told him that every Lux Veritatis Facility had a place to take care of traitors. For this facility, this room was that place. The blood obviously showed that. Since nothing remained here, he went back upstairs.  
  
The first floor consisted mainly of sleeping quarters. Kurtis always felt lucky he didn't have to go to a training facility; Konstantin trained him. He remembered spending a lot of time locked in the basement, however, practicing his telekinetic power. He was often locked up down there. Konstantin was always so fixed on training Kurtis to be an initiate. It didn't matter to him that Kurtis wanted no part in it. So, they began working on Kurtis's psychic abilities when he was three or four. Konstantin got extremely frustrated with Kurtis when something wasn't done right. Then he'd get locked up in the basement. His father wasn't a bad person; Kurtis just wasn't particularly fond of him. He shook the memories from his head and finished checking the first floor. Still nothing. He was beginning to doubt whether they were even here.  
  
The upstairs had a main hall that lead to all the different rooms. Most were large, empty rooms. One of the doors he came to was locked. He rammed his shoulder into it until it busted open. Lara glanced behind her and saw who it was. "Kurtis! Get me down," she yelled to him. He aimed his Chirugai at the chains. "Kurtis!" Something struck him in the back of the head, but he only fell to his knees. He rolled away, and turned, pointing his gun at the man that had just hit him. He wasn't surprised to see Glen.  
  
Kurtis scoffed, "Figures. All right, you got five seconds to get her out of there. Now." Glen smiled and knocked Kurtis's weapon from his hand, then shoved Kurtis against the wall. He pushed Glen away from him using his ability, and hit him hard in his chest. Glen threw himself at Kurtis, so they both fell to the ground. Again, Kurtis was hit in the back of his head. This time, however, he was knocked out.  
  
"What are you doing?!" Lara yelled, not long later. Three men were carrying her squirming body into another room. A chill ran down her spine, causing her to become nervous. "Where's Kurtis? What did you do to him?" They set her down on a steel table, and wrapped, sharp metal bands around her wrists and ankles. She could barely move, but kept fighting anyway.  
  
Kurtis rubbed the back of his head. He knew that he got hit, that was obvious, and swore he heard Lara give out a scream. Whether it was about him or not, he wasn't sure, he just hoped she was unharmed. He could barely see anything in the dark, damp room. He could hear the muffled sounds of people talking. The wall in front of him (or at least he thought it was a wall just a few seconds ago) started lifting, revealing prison-like bars blocking his path. Lara was lying on a table. He called to her, "Lara!"  
  
"Kurtis! I can't move!"  
  
"Hold on." He reached at his side for the Chirugai and found it gone. "Shit!"  
  
"I see you're up now. About time," Glen said, stepping in the room. He paced back and forth in front of the bars as he spoke. "You know you're in our way. I have an order to kill you, which I will do. But, I'm giving you the chance to give up without a struggle. Of course, you'll die either way."  
  
"Oh really?" Kurtis shook his head. "And how do you expect that to happen?" Glen snapped his fingers. There were four men, one to each wheel, and as they began to turn them, the metal around Lara's wrists tightened. Kurtis had heard about this before. It was torture device for traitors. The metal would eventually become so tight that it would crush the bones. Lara let out a painful scream. "Stop! Leave her alone," Kurtis practically screamed. "Let her go! You've got me..."  
  
As I predicted. Let her go," Glen said. Lara didn't move. She wasn't seriously hurt, but she felt she couldn't move. She locked eyes with Kurtis and wondered why.  
  
"Kurtis," she whispered, but he couldn't hear her. The men picked her up and carried her off.  
  
"We'll spare her life. I'd rather use you for the sacrifice anyway." Glen opened the door, and Kurtis was grabbed before he could do anything. Glen stuck him with a needle and a burning sensation ran through his body. Within a few seconds, he lost consciousness.  
  
Lara broke out of the room she was thrown into and knocked out the guards. She searched the first floor until she found a small, black bag. It contained Kurtis's weapons as well as her own (plus ammo). She holstered her weapons and slung the bag across her shoulder. Outside, Lara heard a car driving off. She jumped on her motorcycle. "I'm going after them," she told Larson when she noticed him. "You go back to my house." Before she could object, he took off. 


	8. A new plan

Lara followed Glen's car on her motorcycle, exchanging gun fire on the way. When they came near to another building, Lara hid and watched from a distance. Glen walked in first and the men carrying Kurtis followed. She loaded her guns up and went inside. Immediately she lowered her guns. The floor was black marble, the walls completely white, and the whole room just looked like some sort of church. After carefully examining everything, she found a small behind the throne-like chair. She pulled it up revealing a winding staircase. Guns ready, she quietly ascended them.  
  
Joachim Karel was lying on a table, dead. Kurtis was still unconscious. Bowls filled with the blood of the proto nephilim were resting on a table. Glen was preparing for the ritual to revive Karel. You need a sacrifice to complete the ritual- a mix of human and nephilim blood. Kurtis woke up to find himself chained. "Ah, nice of you to join me," Glen said. "Just in time for you to see what's about to become of you."  
  
"Where ... is Lara?" Kurtis asked weakly. He felt as though his whole body was too heavy to move.  
  
"That shouldn't matter to you now. And before we actually begin, I'd just like to do one thing." He picked up a knife and reopened the almost healed wound Kurtis had received from Boaz. Kurtis let out a pained grunt, but could do nothing. Glen lifted the knife, ready to stab Kurtis in the hart when a gunshot rang out. Glen yelled in pain, and pulled his hand back to his chest as the knife fell to the ground.  
  
Lara said, "Don't move or I'll blow your head off. Remove all your weapons."  
  
"I don't have any."  
  
"Let Kurtis go, and don't try anything." Glen unchained Kurtis. "Kurtis, you ok?"  
  
"Yeah, just a sharp pain in my stomach. Are you going to kill him?" Kurtis asked. Lara shook her head. "What?! Why not?!"  
  
"Because, we can do it later. You're bleeding in case you haven't noticed." She waved her gun at Glen. "You, get him some bandages." Glen dug around the room until he found it, then Lara took it, and wrapped it around Kurtis's stomach. "Give me a safety pin or something," she said. He gave her a pin. She weaved it in so it would hold. "Now that that's done, get back." Keeping her gun trained on Glen she backed up the stairs with Kurtis.  
  
"You think you can survive a motorcycle ride?"  
  
"Yeah, let's just go."  
  
When they arrived back at Lara's, she had to force Kurtis to rest. He took his shirts off so she could look over the wound and rewrap it. "So," Kurtis said, "has Glen always been this evil or is it only because I'm around?"  
  
"I don't know what's gotten into him. I'm going to put something on this to clean it out. It might sting a bit," she told him. She placed one hand next to the wound and her touch was cold, but gentle against his skin. She used her other hand to apply the liquid onto the wound. She had the most trouble concentrating on the wound. When she heard him sigh, she said, "It's not that bad, not even deep."  
  
"We've got to stop them from reviving Eckhardt."  
  
"We will, but you need to rest a bit first. Plus, I don't know how we're going to stop them without those damned shards. Karel is a nephilim."  
  
"There is something else we can use" he said. "A sword. It's made from a specialized crystal, even stronger than the Periapt shards. The Lux Verittis made it incaase something like this happened."  
  
"Oh, they just know everything, don't they? So, where is it and how long will it take us to get to it?"  
  
"It's in a temple on an island near Antartica," he told her. "And how long it takes us to find it depends, obviously. We should get going has soon as possible. I'm not sure if Gunderson knows it exists and where it is. Are you done now?"  
  
"Yeah, put your shirt on."  
  
"Nah, I think I'll walk around like this and tease you a bit more."  
  
"Wipe that grin off your face and just do it. Okay, so we get the sword. But, not today. Maybe tomorrow-"  
  
"No. We go now. We can take a helicopter or a boat or something, but we go now."  
  
She said, "Ok, ok. Let's pack. Which reminds me..." She threw his weapons out on the bed. They packed up everything they thought they'd need, and Kurtis put his shirt back on. "We'll need a jacket. It'll be cold."  
  
"I don't have a jacket, and I don't want one," he said.  
  
"Fine, I hope you get sick. So, how should we get there?"  
  
"Do you know anyone that can fly a helicopter? I'd prefer a helicopter."  
  
"I'll make a few calls."  
  
Half an hour later, they were on their way. Lara was asleep on Kurtis's shoulder. She was really tired. He smoothed her hair back out of her face. "I'll take care of you," he whispered to her.  
  
"I can take care of myself," she mumbled back. He just laughed. "I'm tired." He smiled and kissed her forehead.  
  
Kurtis directed the man flying the helicopter to the island. Gently, he woke Lara up and they got out of the helicopter. "This looks easy enough," Lara said looking up at the temple. "How do we get the doors open?"  
  
"You don't," Kurtis said. "I do."  
  
"What?" He held his hand up and she didn't ay anything else. He concentrated on the door. It moved slightly.  
  
"Shit," he cursed. "This won't be easy."  
  
"Can't I help you in anyway?" she asked.  
  
"No, I have to do it myself." He let out a sigh before trying it again. The door slowly opened just enough for them to slip through. Inside, they started down a flight of stairs. Lara counted the steps in her head as she stepped on them. When they reached the bottom, Kurtis put his arm out in front of her so she wouldn't go on ahead.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Look for any signs of traps." They carefully examined the room from where they were standing. The room, Lara thought, looked very similar to the underground hall in the Tomb of Ancients with the blade traps that led to the Hall of Seasons. Kurtis looked up at the ceiling, trying to think. The ceiling was a mirror image of the floor he stood on. He heard Lara start walking ahead. It was an exact mirror image except- "Lara, stop!" She stopped and turned around with her hands on her hips, slightly annoyed.  
  
"What do you want now?"  
  
"Don't move. Look up," he told her. She looked and saw the mirror image of the floor. But, it was different. In the image, there were holes in the floor, filled with spikes. In fact, there was one just a step in front of her. She jumped safely over it. Kurtis started to walk toward her and the floor started to move.  
  
"What's going?" she called to him.  
  
"Watch the floor. The whole thing is covering a pit of spikes. The holes are part of the floor. We have to get to the otherside." Lara nodded. Has the floor rotated, the two of them tried to keep their balance as the floor rotated.  
  
"That wasn't too hard."  
  
"That was just a warm up," Kurtis. They pushed the door open and walked down a small flight of stairs.  
  
Lara sighed, "When this is over, I'm going to want my stairs replaced with an elevator." He smiled at her. In the center of the room was a pedestal. "There's nothing on it, and there's no where else to go. What are we supposed to do?" They looked around the room for a minute. Lara walked around inspecting things while Kurtis stayed by the pedestal. There were symbols carved into the top corners of it. He didn't recognize them though. "Kurtis, come here a minute.' She was crouching down in the corner.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I don't know any of these symbols, do you?" She ran her fingers lightly over the ten symbols in the floor. Kurtis pushed the four that matched the pedestal. They heard a noise behind them. The pedestal split and sank down into the ground revealing the sword. Kurtis picked it up. Lara said, "That was easy. I thought the Lux Veritatis protected your stuff a lot better than that."  
  
"We do." The sound of something cracking reached their ears. It stopped for a minute, then was replaced with popping sounds. Kurtis grabbed Lara's hand. "Come on, let's go." They started up the stairs and something hit her in the shoulder. She grunted and pulled a small dart out. "They're poisionous," Kurtis said. "If you get hit take it out right away. Don't give it a chance to sink in."  
  
"Thank you. I don't think I would have thought of that myself if you hadn't said anything," she told him sarcastically.  
  
"Shut up." He pulled her up the stairway. The door was gone. "Shit! There's got to be another way."  
  
"Can you use your telekinesis to move the wall or something?"  
  
He sighed, "I'll try." He put his palms against the wall and closed his eyes to concentrate. Lara tapped her foot on the ground impatiently. "I can't concentrate when you do that." She stopped. Water was rushing in behind them.  
  
"Uh, Kurtis? I don't mean to pester you, but if you don't hurry up, we're going to drown." The water started to make a pool around her ankles. The wall blocking their path hit the ground with a smack, and they were thrown backwards by water. When they surfaced, Lara yelled over the noise of the water, "We haven't got a lot of time to get out! Let's swim for the top!"  
  
"I dropped the sword! I'll dive for it, you go ahead!" He went under before she could say anything. He forced his way down and picked the sword up off the bottom. A sharp pain hit him in the side, but he ignored it. He caught up to Lara and grabbed her hand with his free one. They quickly climbed out when they reached the top.  
  
In the helicopter, Kurtis pulled the dart out of his side. He felt dizzy and extremely warm. Lara noticed the dart in his hand. "Do you need an antibiotic?" she asked. He nodded. She a needle from one of her kits and gave him the shot. "You need to rest. We'll go back to my house. We have the sword, we can spare a day." She held his hand until they got there.  
  
**More soon** 


	9. Going After Karel

They were on another helicopter by the next morning. Lara was ready to end all this crap with the nephili right now, but Kurtis was trying to come up with a plan to do it smoothly. The sword was wrapped up and tied to his back. He didn't know what kind of things were in the temple. A dead Karel, Glen, Gunderson, and ... and God knows what else. Kurtis decided he'd have to watch out for Lara. Not that she was incapable of taking care of herself; he just felt he needed to take care of her. Because he was a trained Lux Veritatis and she wasn't ... so he's more skilled than her... or something. Yeah... He shook his head and stared out the window.  
  
The temple was located in Egypt. "Why Egypt?" Lara had asked when Kurtis told her. So he had to explain. The nephilim were always of rare existence. Egyptians worshiped the nephilim race like they were gods. Of course, people also feared them because of the great destruction they were capable of. A small group of monks saw this as a problem. The monks found a way to deal with this by creating the Periapt Shards. The sword was made incase something ever happened to the shards or the shards weren't strong enough. With Karel, it was both.  
  
"Here's the door," Kurtis called. He opened the small, heavy hatch on the side of a very small temple. The temple looked like there couldn't possibly be anything in it. It was that small. Lara joined Kurtis as he ducked under the door and down the narrow staircase. It wound down into a laboratory looking room. There was a small table in the corner covered in blood. "Whatever happened here happened recently," he told her.  
  
"Well, what do you think the blood's from?" she asked.  
  
"I have no idea, but we'd better watch out for Karel. Just incase." She nodded and they went through a hall that split into two paths at the end. "Figures, don't it?"  
  
"Yeah," she agreed. "I'll take the path on the right, that way I'm likely to come back. Right is always better than left."  
  
Kurtis said, "Hey! ... Best of luck to you too." With his gun ready he headed down the left path. It seemed like a long walk before he finally reached another staircase with a fresh blood trail. At the bottom was a door. The room inside was dark, lit only by a few candles. It was as small as a cell. The candles barely lighting anything were resting on a table around a bowl, traces of the substance that was once in it still remained. He looked at it closer and saw that it was blood. A painting of a nephilim hung on the wall behind the altar. Carefully, he pushed it aside and crossed over into another room.  
  
The floor was marble, the ceiling was a huge mirror, and the walls were white. Glen's body was slumped in a corner. Kurtis scoffed, "Oh well." The room was empty other than that and looked like a dead end. He looked up at the ceiling, but saw no change in the reflection. "Suppose I'd better catch up to Lara then."  
  
Lara had taken a winding staircase down and came to a room. Well, it wasn't a room really; it was a cave. Not far from the staircase was a deep pit. She found a place to get a firm grip and started to climb down. The farther she climbed, the more nervous she became. "You're almost there," she said to herself. She felt relieved when her foot touched solid ground. It's not like she hadn't climbed anything before, but with unpredictable people like Karel around, you never know what will happen. "This place is unbelievable," she sighed. The cave stretched out into another passage. Something hit the top of her head, making a quick, sharp pain. "Ow. Wha- Oh." Kurtis was climbing down the ledge. "How'd you catch up so fast?" she asked when he reached the bottom.  
  
"Nothing but a dead Glen on my path," he told her. "They must've sacrificed him. ... Oh well. Here." He handed her the sword, which was actually pretty heavy.  
  
"What do you want me to do with it?"  
  
"Carry it. Come on, let's move it." Lara scoffed at his sudden seriousness and followed him into the tunnel.  
  
"I don't think it's a good idea to separate again," she said.  
  
"We shouldn't have to." He sighed, "I don't know how hard this is going to be, but we have to get rid of Karel, no matter what."  
  
"And Gunderson?"  
  
"Ah, we'll just shoot him in the head."  
  
"Oh what a great plan."  
  
He said, "Shut up." They continued down the passage, Lara dragging the sword behind her. Kurtis wasn't in front of her anymore.  
  
"What are you doing?" She said turning around. He held his hand up to silence her. She whispered, "What?"  
  
"Can you hear it?" he whispered back. Lara stood there for a minute, listening. Somewhere, at the end of the passage, people were talking. "Come on, I bet we're almost there." He walked ahead of her again, so she followed. The end of the passage looked like a throne room. Karel was sitting in the center.  
  
Lara scoffed, "What a messed up place this is."  
  
"I knew you'd come," Karel said, more to Kurtis than Lara.  
  
"So you're alive and well, huh?"  
  
"Didn't Mr. Trent here tell you what happened to Glen? What were you expecting? I see you have the sword." Lara's grip tightened on the handle of it. She lifted the blade and swung at Karel. He jumped out of the way and struck her in the back of the neck. 


	10. Uncomfortable Goodbye

The sound of metal clashing against the rocks woke Lara up. She rubbed the back of her neck. Kurtis and Karel weren't within her view. She stood up, feeling a little shaky. Heavy footsteps approached quickly behind her and she was struck down to the ground again. She looked up. Gunderson loomed above her. She got to her feet and thrust her fist into his face. He faltered back a step, then hit her in the stomach. She staggered back into the wall. Quickly, she drew her gun and shot, nailing him in the head. He fell to the ground. Leaving Gunderson's dead body, she started back up the passage. Kurtis was swinging the sword around and dodging Karel's attacks. Kurtis threw his Chirugai, but Karel caught it. Kurtis noticed Lara standing there. "Get back," he yelled to her. She didn't move. He gave her frustrated look. A metal blade of the Chirugai pierced through Kurtis's shoulder and Lara couldn't help letting out a startled scream. He walked over to her and she helped him sit down.  
  
"Give me that sword," she said. He handed it to her and leaned his uninjured shoulder against the wall. Lara tightened her grip around the handle. "Come on, Karel. Get your ass over here and fight." She swung the sword at him and he caught it. A kick to the stomach pushed him backwards. He knocked her to the ground without touching her. She rose to her knees and knicked his leg with the sword. She tried to run back to Kurtis, but was knocked down again and slid toward Karel. He took the sword from her. She rolled out of the way as it smacked the ground.  
  
Kurtis was trying to think of a way to help Lara. He extended his hand out and mentally gave Karel a shove backwards. It was all he could do, being as his own weapon was jammed into his shoulder pretty good. Karel started toward Kurtis. Lara picked up the sword from where it was dropped and made a slash in Karel's back. He turned around to hit her and she stuck the sword through his lower back. Blood dripped from his mouth. He fell forward to his knees, wavered a bit, then fell on the ground. Lara sighed a little.  
  
"Kurtis, are you alright?" She asked. He only nodded. "Let's get out of here and we'll fix you up." He told her to take the sword. "What? Whay?"  
  
"Please, just do it."  
  
"... Okay, if you really want me to." She stepped on Karel's body,pulled the sword out and stabbed him one more time before handing it to Kurtis. "It's going to be a hard climb," she said. "I can try to help you though. Too bad we didn't bring some rope."  
  
"I don't know if I can make that. There's got to be another way or something."  
  
"Like what; a secret elevator? Perhaps an escalat-"  
  
"Lara shut up! I don't know what to do, but I doubt I can make it back up!"  
  
"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I don't know what to do either. ... I could go get a rope or something, but I don't want to leave you here. Let me look around down here, you just wait. Ok?" He nodded and she wandered around the passage, inspecting things. There was a blood trail she never noticed before that ended at Karel's throne-like chair. ("A little over dramatic, isn't he? He isn't that important. Better for his ego I guess.") The sound of a sword tearing through skin reached her ears. She turned around and saw a headless Karel fall to the ground. "Ugh, Gross. You cut his head off."  
  
Kurtis said, "I had to. He was going to kill you. You find anything yet?"  
  
"Not yet. Hey." She walked over to the tapestry hanging on the wall. It looked similar to the one hanging in the Lux Veritatis vault. She pushed it aside and rammed her shoulder into the wall. "I found a staircase. This gets more and more like a movie every second."  
  
"Ah, just go." He pushed her up the stairs. They came out the wall Glen's body was slumped against. "Here's Glen." Lara looked at his bloody body for a second, then shook her head.  
  
When they finally came out of the temple, Kurtis flat out refused to go to a hospital. Lara kept insisting. "Please, Kurtis?" she begged. "You have to do something. Let me take you to a hospital." He said no. "At least let me call someone I know that can help. You can't walk around like that." He thought about it for a minute.  
  
"All right," he finally answered. "I guess so." They reached Lara's house in what seemed like hours. Lara helped Kurtis inside and had him sit down while she used the phone.  
  
"He'll be here in a minute," she told Kurtis.  
  
"He'll be here in a minute? Oh no. Is this guy going to try to kill me too?"  
  
"No. His name is David. He was a friend of my father's, so there's nothing to worry about. How's your shoulder?"  
  
"I could use some pain killers, but I'm holding," he said. "How long is he gonna take to get here?"  
  
"Just a few minutes. Anything I can do for you?" He just shook his head. They waited in silence for ten minutes. David was an old man. He wore glasses and what little hair he had left was gray. He took a look at Kurtis's shoulder.  
  
"We're going to have to remove your shirt," David said. "Lara, bring me a pair of scissors." Lara handed him some scissors. Kurtis noticed how shaky the old man's hands were. David leaned close to Kurtis. He tried to put the scissors under the neck of Kurtis's white shirt, but ended up poking him.  
  
"Ow! Shit," Kurtis swore.  
  
"Here I'll do it," Lara offered as she took the scissors.  
  
"Why do we have to cut my shirt off?"  
  
"Well, you can't really take it off with that blade in your shoulder, dumb ass. Use your head." Kurtis watched Lara as she finished cutting the sleeve of his black shirt. She met his gaze. "Don't get too excited, Kurtis. I'm just helping to get the blade out." He gave her a snotty smile and she smiled innocently back. "All done." She took a step back and said, "Now, I'm going to go talk to Larson."  
  
"No, wait. You have to stay here with me," he protested.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can handle watching this." She went upstairs, leaving him pleading for her to come back. She found Larson in the music room, reading. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Reading Moby Dick," he told her.  
  
"Well, that's great, but ... that's a history book."  
  
He looked at it for a second, blinked, then said, "So it is."  
  
"Larson, you're going to have to go home." She proceeded to convince him to go home with his girlfriend because of Kurtis's condition. "And he wont be in the mood to deal with you, so if you don't mind..." Surprisingly, he agreed and went on his way. Lara waited for Kurtis in her room.  
  
The next day, Kurtis swallowed some aspirin for the pulsating ache in his shoulder. He was careful how he moved his arm so he wouldn't tear the stitches. "Lara, I uh-"  
  
"What?" she asked when she came in.  
  
He cleared his throat and continued, "Do you have the sword?"  
  
"Yeah, here. May I ask why you want it?"  
  
"I don't know. Just in case maybe. It's not like we can put it back or anything." He laughed a little, then cleared his throat again. "I should probably go home. Have to get plane tickets or something." Lara just nodded. He put the strap of his duffel bag around his shoulder. An uncomfortable silence hung between them. "Well," Kurtis finally said, "guess I'll see ya."  
  
"Bye, Kurtis." He just nodded in what seemed to be slight disappointment. Long after he had gone, Lara realized the mistake she made in letting him go.  
  
Kurtis had to wait around the airport for a few hours. He sat impatiently in a chair, looking at the people around him. A couple with a baby stood at the counter having a conversation with the woman behind it. Suddenly, he missed Lara. But, he had to go home. He sighed, trying to block out any thought about her from his mind. When the time came, he grabbed his bag and boarded the plane. 


End file.
